Gia had leave at four am on Monday morning and since I was on my own getting to the airport, I wanted to make sure I left enough time for mistakes. I woke up at 6:30 [that's 12:30 am your time] and took a taxi to the plaza. Then I got on the airport bus. That process was super quick and I ended up getting to the airport three hours early. I did kill some time by attempting to pay to check my bags in cash in order to use up some of my Euros. Here begins a series of unfortunate mistakes. First, there was a delay on my flight and it left one hour and forty five minutes late. Second, the Barcelona airport must be a little tricky because both times I have gone through security at the wrong time. Coming to Spain, we accidently walked out of security during our layover. This time I went through security and then through passport control. The problem was when you go through passport control you can only get to the international gates and you can't get back down to airport shopping. So without going to airport shopping, I sat in the international gates of the Barcelona airport for about four hours. I did meet some people from New Jersey and some people from Spain.
The flight itself was money. All of the seats had on demand tv so I picked out two movies and two episodes of the office. They gave us lunch twice, I guess because we went back in time.
Our plane was a little late landing in Newark. I had to go through customs and collect my luggage. I almost missed my layover. I was running though the airport and I had to go through security again, where there was a line. After security I ran to my gate. They had boarded and there was no more line but I was not too late. For the exciting ending twist, my plane from Newark to Atlanta arrived thirty minutes early. Mom and Val were waiting for me though, and hugged my crying.
After getting five hours of sleep on Sunday, I stayed up for 24 hours straight on Monday: from 6:30 am Spain time, to midnight your time. Nevertheless I was so happy when I arrived home and Kendall, Bryan, Duell, Laura Beth and Kaitlyn came out into the driveway to meet me. It is so good to feel loved after being away for four months. Jacob, Kristen, Travis, Sam, and Perry also came over. They all listened to my stories and looked at my pictures.
Since I've been home, I have missed the Spanish food. I tried to make some of Isabel's recipes but they are not exactly the same. The thing I appreciated most about Spain was the walkability. It was so convenient to be able to run for stamps or tomatoes by going five minutes and three blocks over. I woke up at 7 am every morning for the first four days.
What do I love most about America?
All of the people.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Barcelona
While Paris is tan & gray and Sevilla is white and yellow, Barcelona is Orange. It wins the awards for the best dressed street performers with the most variety and the most unique fashion sense.
Our hostel in Barcelona was the Youth Sound Hostel. It didn't have the best room situation but it had a great location, really close to Las Ramblas.
Getting to our hostel was tricky as always, this time due to the 50 Kilos of luggage we were dragging down metro steps. This was a low food budget trip. I had a falafel pita for dinner.
I'd say we had learned how to be savvy travelers by this point and we made what turned out to be a good decision- not to buy the unlimited metro pass. We were able to ride the metro 10 times for the low price of 7.7 euros and we walked a lot throughout the day, giving us time to take in the city and see things along the way. It was a big improvement to spending 45% of our day riding the metro from one major landmark to the next.
Friday. Today we started big and went to the sagrada familia. Like the Mona Lisa, I wonder why the world has picked this unfinished church to be the most famous landmark. It has a Christmas tree on top for goodness sakes! Look at that Christmas tree and then look me in the eye and tell me this church is serious. It probably wasn't worth paying to go in, seeing as it's really under construction. There is a museum that explains about Gaudi though. We walked to Casa Mila, the next Gaudi building. These are apartment buildings with a curvy front and an open middle. The fun part about this one is going on the roof. There are giant ice cream looking shapes and scary face chimneys. You can tour a floor of the house which is set up like an antique Spanish apartment. Casa Batllo was too expensive, so we just admired the dragon roof from outside. We went to Pans & Company for lunch and I enjoyed one of my last tortilla Espanol bocadillas.
We then took the metro up Mount Juic, the Jewish Mountain. There we find the 1992 Olympic Stadium, the Joan Miro museum, and several gardens. The museum had an awesome exhibition of murals which I loved. The Miro paintings usually consist of a stick person, a line, a star and a blue circle, for example, so they get a bet tiring towards the end. We walked around the mountain and saw some pretty gardens. Dinner was sandwiches and an orange. We saw the magic fountains. THEY REALLY ARE MAGIC. It was the best fountain show I've ever been too. The fountain is huge with so many layers and it has the ability to turn to mist. It goes from hot pink to orange like fire, to green and it even played Disney music in Spanish. I was enthralled.
Saturday: We left our hostel after a breakfast of cereal and bread to walk down Las Ramblas. There are people selling birds, flowers and paintings,as well as many dressed up street performers. Our first stop had been Palau Guell, a Gaudi mansion. Right now it's being redone so it's free and only the bottom floor is opened to the public. It wasn't that exciting but it does have very colorful chimneys. We walked to the Christopher Columbus monument and an outdoor antique market. We then went on a search to find our free walking tour. We went to the travel bar and they directed us to the travel office. By the time we found that, we were late and we ran through the streets of Barcelona trying to catch up, but without success. Out of breath, we walked to the top of the Gothic neighborhood to the Plaza of Cataluna. We went to the 4 Gats [4 cats] for lunch. It is an old cafe, famous for the fact that Picasso and other artists used to hang out there. It was very cute. Since it was a budget food trip, we only ordered ice cream and a plate of croquettes. Later we went to McDonalds where I got a yogurt parfait, which I think is better in Europe. Next we went to attempt the walking tour yet again. This time we were 30 minutes early, but at least we found the right place. The tour was very interesting, with a lot of history mixed in. We saw some of the oldest things in the center of Barcelona like the Cathedrals and the Roman ruins. In the evening, we took the metro to Parque Guell. This park was designed by Gaudi as a gated park community. He intended to build mansions there, but instead it turned out to be a public park. There is a famous pavilion of white benches with all types of mosaics.
For dinner we had some noodles.
Sunday. Sunday morning took us to the contemporary art museum of Barcelona. Not my favorite art museum. We then went to the Cathedral to find that the stories about community dances on Sunday mornings are absolutely true. There is a band in the plaza of the cathedral on Sunday mornings and the people come and place their coats and purses in the middle and then hold hands and dance in a circle. It looks like a Greek dance.
We went to mass in the cathedral instead of paying for a tour of it on Saturday. The really cool thing is that later in the day we went to a baptist evangelical church and we got to see first hand the differences. It's especially good to see what it's like to be protestant when you are absolutely against the norm. The evangelical church was way more excited to have American tourists since I'm sure tourists are a lot more common in the cathedral. Everyone in the little church came up to talk to us and invited us to sit right in the front. Then, they announced our names from the pulpit, complete with the spelling of Gia's name, which is a mystery to them all. The songs are so fun in Spanish and the church was very upbeat. The preacher spoke on the great commission and it was very easy to understand. I thought it was a great last experience in Spain.
Backtracking...Sunday we had lunch at Bocatta, another sandwich shop and I had my last tortilla de patatas bocadillo! So beautiful. We went to the Picasso museum, which was free on Sunday afternoons and to the Barcelona music hall to admire its architecture. We also walked through a large park and to the beach. We went to the travel bar for dinner, where they served us a plate of pasta for free with our purchase of a drink. Dinner.. 1.50 Euro. (Plus the price of a banana for snack)
Barcelona is shocking, original, quirky, and the home of the rebels of Spain.
Our hostel in Barcelona was the Youth Sound Hostel. It didn't have the best room situation but it had a great location, really close to Las Ramblas.
Getting to our hostel was tricky as always, this time due to the 50 Kilos of luggage we were dragging down metro steps. This was a low food budget trip. I had a falafel pita for dinner.
I'd say we had learned how to be savvy travelers by this point and we made what turned out to be a good decision- not to buy the unlimited metro pass. We were able to ride the metro 10 times for the low price of 7.7 euros and we walked a lot throughout the day, giving us time to take in the city and see things along the way. It was a big improvement to spending 45% of our day riding the metro from one major landmark to the next.
Friday. Today we started big and went to the sagrada familia. Like the Mona Lisa, I wonder why the world has picked this unfinished church to be the most famous landmark. It has a Christmas tree on top for goodness sakes! Look at that Christmas tree and then look me in the eye and tell me this church is serious. It probably wasn't worth paying to go in, seeing as it's really under construction. There is a museum that explains about Gaudi though. We walked to Casa Mila, the next Gaudi building. These are apartment buildings with a curvy front and an open middle. The fun part about this one is going on the roof. There are giant ice cream looking shapes and scary face chimneys. You can tour a floor of the house which is set up like an antique Spanish apartment. Casa Batllo was too expensive, so we just admired the dragon roof from outside. We went to Pans & Company for lunch and I enjoyed one of my last tortilla Espanol bocadillas.
We then took the metro up Mount Juic, the Jewish Mountain. There we find the 1992 Olympic Stadium, the Joan Miro museum, and several gardens. The museum had an awesome exhibition of murals which I loved. The Miro paintings usually consist of a stick person, a line, a star and a blue circle, for example, so they get a bet tiring towards the end. We walked around the mountain and saw some pretty gardens. Dinner was sandwiches and an orange. We saw the magic fountains. THEY REALLY ARE MAGIC. It was the best fountain show I've ever been too. The fountain is huge with so many layers and it has the ability to turn to mist. It goes from hot pink to orange like fire, to green and it even played Disney music in Spanish. I was enthralled.
Saturday: We left our hostel after a breakfast of cereal and bread to walk down Las Ramblas. There are people selling birds, flowers and paintings,as well as many dressed up street performers. Our first stop had been Palau Guell, a Gaudi mansion. Right now it's being redone so it's free and only the bottom floor is opened to the public. It wasn't that exciting but it does have very colorful chimneys. We walked to the Christopher Columbus monument and an outdoor antique market. We then went on a search to find our free walking tour. We went to the travel bar and they directed us to the travel office. By the time we found that, we were late and we ran through the streets of Barcelona trying to catch up, but without success. Out of breath, we walked to the top of the Gothic neighborhood to the Plaza of Cataluna. We went to the 4 Gats [4 cats] for lunch. It is an old cafe, famous for the fact that Picasso and other artists used to hang out there. It was very cute. Since it was a budget food trip, we only ordered ice cream and a plate of croquettes. Later we went to McDonalds where I got a yogurt parfait, which I think is better in Europe. Next we went to attempt the walking tour yet again. This time we were 30 minutes early, but at least we found the right place. The tour was very interesting, with a lot of history mixed in. We saw some of the oldest things in the center of Barcelona like the Cathedrals and the Roman ruins. In the evening, we took the metro to Parque Guell. This park was designed by Gaudi as a gated park community. He intended to build mansions there, but instead it turned out to be a public park. There is a famous pavilion of white benches with all types of mosaics.
For dinner we had some noodles.
Sunday. Sunday morning took us to the contemporary art museum of Barcelona. Not my favorite art museum. We then went to the Cathedral to find that the stories about community dances on Sunday mornings are absolutely true. There is a band in the plaza of the cathedral on Sunday mornings and the people come and place their coats and purses in the middle and then hold hands and dance in a circle. It looks like a Greek dance.
We went to mass in the cathedral instead of paying for a tour of it on Saturday. The really cool thing is that later in the day we went to a baptist evangelical church and we got to see first hand the differences. It's especially good to see what it's like to be protestant when you are absolutely against the norm. The evangelical church was way more excited to have American tourists since I'm sure tourists are a lot more common in the cathedral. Everyone in the little church came up to talk to us and invited us to sit right in the front. Then, they announced our names from the pulpit, complete with the spelling of Gia's name, which is a mystery to them all. The songs are so fun in Spanish and the church was very upbeat. The preacher spoke on the great commission and it was very easy to understand. I thought it was a great last experience in Spain.
Backtracking...Sunday we had lunch at Bocatta, another sandwich shop and I had my last tortilla de patatas bocadillo! So beautiful. We went to the Picasso museum, which was free on Sunday afternoons and to the Barcelona music hall to admire its architecture. We also walked through a large park and to the beach. We went to the travel bar for dinner, where they served us a plate of pasta for free with our purchase of a drink. Dinner.. 1.50 Euro. (Plus the price of a banana for snack)
Barcelona is shocking, original, quirky, and the home of the rebels of Spain.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Goodbye Sevilla
Well I am now back in Stockbridge, that beautiful city but I would like to back track and recount my journey to Barcelona and my last day in Sevilla.
On Tuesday I had my last tutoring class. I had a lot of fun playing guess who with Claudia and her parents were very sweet and invited me to visit them if I ever come back. On Wednesday I had my literature final and then took the bus to Dos Hermanas to visit the Owens one last time and return an English book I had borrowed. That was the first time I took the bus in Sevilla, apart from the airport bus. The Dos Hermanas bus was very empty and I had to request my stop. Sadly I missed the stop and had to walk back, but not too far.
Wednesday night was the goodbye party at CC-CS. There was a talent show and by coincidence, during our last night in Sevilla, the Sevilla soccer team one a tournament and there was a riot in the street! Everyone gathered in a plaza and was singing the Sevilla team song and waving their red scarves and people would honk as they drove by. The whole city was in Fiesta!
On Tursday afternoon, I had to get to the train station with all of my bags. Everyone talked about taking taxis to leave instead of the airport bus but I was not convinced. It turns out that the bus leaves from the same street that also has taxis. After being advised that my best bet would be a taxi, I knew I had to give the bus a try. I decided to attempt the bus and if that didn't work out, I could always take a taxi. Katherine and I made a spectacle of ourselves getting down the stairs and to the street. Isabel had been gone all day so after I came down stairs I called her and she said she would return in seven minutes so I waited for her in the lobby. It was really nice that she caught me before I left to say goodbye. I walked two three blocks to the bus stop, dragging my two suitcases. The bus took ten minutes to come but when it did I waited for everyone to get on, then hoisted my bags up. Second bus in Sevilla: success
I got to the train station and met Gia. We had chosen to take the AVE [high speed train] to avoid paying for luggage on the plane. Turns out that the fine print of our tickets says that you can't bring more than 20 kilos and I had about 50 kilos. Fortunately those were more like guidelines and no one checked. We did have to have help getting our suitcases in the train. Gia just had one big suitcase and it did not fit onto the shelf so we just left it in the back. And off we went on our 5.5 hour train ride to Barcelona.
On Tuesday I had my last tutoring class. I had a lot of fun playing guess who with Claudia and her parents were very sweet and invited me to visit them if I ever come back. On Wednesday I had my literature final and then took the bus to Dos Hermanas to visit the Owens one last time and return an English book I had borrowed. That was the first time I took the bus in Sevilla, apart from the airport bus. The Dos Hermanas bus was very empty and I had to request my stop. Sadly I missed the stop and had to walk back, but not too far.
Wednesday night was the goodbye party at CC-CS. There was a talent show and by coincidence, during our last night in Sevilla, the Sevilla soccer team one a tournament and there was a riot in the street! Everyone gathered in a plaza and was singing the Sevilla team song and waving their red scarves and people would honk as they drove by. The whole city was in Fiesta!
On Tursday afternoon, I had to get to the train station with all of my bags. Everyone talked about taking taxis to leave instead of the airport bus but I was not convinced. It turns out that the bus leaves from the same street that also has taxis. After being advised that my best bet would be a taxi, I knew I had to give the bus a try. I decided to attempt the bus and if that didn't work out, I could always take a taxi. Katherine and I made a spectacle of ourselves getting down the stairs and to the street. Isabel had been gone all day so after I came down stairs I called her and she said she would return in seven minutes so I waited for her in the lobby. It was really nice that she caught me before I left to say goodbye. I walked two three blocks to the bus stop, dragging my two suitcases. The bus took ten minutes to come but when it did I waited for everyone to get on, then hoisted my bags up. Second bus in Sevilla: success
I got to the train station and met Gia. We had chosen to take the AVE [high speed train] to avoid paying for luggage on the plane. Turns out that the fine print of our tickets says that you can't bring more than 20 kilos and I had about 50 kilos. Fortunately those were more like guidelines and no one checked. We did have to have help getting our suitcases in the train. Gia just had one big suitcase and it did not fit onto the shelf so we just left it in the back. And off we went on our 5.5 hour train ride to Barcelona.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Catching up with the Dreams
Today is my last full day in Sevilla. I would like to thank everyone who ever believed it me...
All the people who read my blog
The parents and Scholarship organizations who sent me money
They people who skyped with me regularly.... Kendall West and Amanda and Steffy
The people who sent me snail mail
The People who remembered to write me messages... Kacy Mauldin
When I came to Europe, I knew I wanted to see Great Britian. I also wanted to see Paris and Barcelona. There was a time when I had doubts that I would ever get to go anywhere, I´m going to be honest. It is really amazing to think that I will have gone to all three of these places in my three last weekends abroad! Who would have guessed?
I am still completely thrilled that I got the opportunity to go to London. When I didn´t find a friend to go with, I contacted Jennifer, a girl studying abroad from Shorter. Unfortunately, she was going to be away every weekend in April, which was when I wanted to come. I finally worked it out to go during the middle of Feria week. During the week plane tickets are a little cheaper. Jennifer would have classes but I would be able to stay in her dorm.
BUT then there was volcanic ash.
I further hoped that I would have Monday or Friday of exam week free so that I could go during the last weekend of Spain but this was not so. In an act of risk taking, I decided to buy plane tickets to go to London Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon.
I was on the edge of my seat all week since there was another ash cloud and the Sevilla airport closed on Tuesday.
After all of this, you might have been surprised to find that I had a very successful trip to London.
It was better for Jennifer that I came last weekend because she was done with classes and I got to stay with the family she now lives with. It was also better that I didn´t go during the Feria because I got to go to Feria with Isabel and have tons of fun!
It all goes to show that God knows our plans better than we do.
All the people who read my blog
The parents and Scholarship organizations who sent me money
They people who skyped with me regularly.... Kendall West and Amanda and Steffy
The people who sent me snail mail
The People who remembered to write me messages... Kacy Mauldin
When I came to Europe, I knew I wanted to see Great Britian. I also wanted to see Paris and Barcelona. There was a time when I had doubts that I would ever get to go anywhere, I´m going to be honest. It is really amazing to think that I will have gone to all three of these places in my three last weekends abroad! Who would have guessed?
I am still completely thrilled that I got the opportunity to go to London. When I didn´t find a friend to go with, I contacted Jennifer, a girl studying abroad from Shorter. Unfortunately, she was going to be away every weekend in April, which was when I wanted to come. I finally worked it out to go during the middle of Feria week. During the week plane tickets are a little cheaper. Jennifer would have classes but I would be able to stay in her dorm.
BUT then there was volcanic ash.
I further hoped that I would have Monday or Friday of exam week free so that I could go during the last weekend of Spain but this was not so. In an act of risk taking, I decided to buy plane tickets to go to London Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon.
I was on the edge of my seat all week since there was another ash cloud and the Sevilla airport closed on Tuesday.
After all of this, you might have been surprised to find that I had a very successful trip to London.
It was better for Jennifer that I came last weekend because she was done with classes and I got to stay with the family she now lives with. It was also better that I didn´t go during the Feria because I got to go to Feria with Isabel and have tons of fun!
It all goes to show that God knows our plans better than we do.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
La Macarena
I am trying to take advantage of my last days in Sevilla and I decided that I couldn´t leave without going to the neighborhood which is the name sake of the number one Latin song of all time.
Truth be told, there isn´t anything amazingly exciting about the Macarena.
I did find the remains of the original city wall which go for several yards around the Macarena. I also found (not in the macarena but on my way back to the center) a bead store where I bought several painted beads.
I did walk for about three hours and got a sizable blister.
I am living my last 48 hours in Sevilla, it is so hard to believe.
I took another visit to the Alcazar gardens and read some of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in Spanish. Did I tell you that I now have an Andalucia library card?
I had my last English class. The couple were very nice to me and told me that if I come back to Sevilla, I should call them.
I studied a lot for exams.
I cleaned out my desk and tried to throw away as many papers as possible in preparacion for my departure.
I ate some ice cream.
Today was a good day.
Truth be told, there isn´t anything amazingly exciting about the Macarena.
I did find the remains of the original city wall which go for several yards around the Macarena. I also found (not in the macarena but on my way back to the center) a bead store where I bought several painted beads.
I did walk for about three hours and got a sizable blister.
I am living my last 48 hours in Sevilla, it is so hard to believe.
I took another visit to the Alcazar gardens and read some of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in Spanish. Did I tell you that I now have an Andalucia library card?
I had my last English class. The couple were very nice to me and told me that if I come back to Sevilla, I should call them.
I studied a lot for exams.
I cleaned out my desk and tried to throw away as many papers as possible in preparacion for my departure.
I ate some ice cream.
Today was a good day.
Monday, May 17, 2010
London - Following Dreams and Chasing Ashless skies
So I finally went to London.
!!!!!!!!!!!
It was a really short 48 hour trip, but I am so glad and thankful that I went. I stayed with a friend from Shorter, Jennifer, who is a nanny for an American family in London. They were so kind and let me stay with them too!
I flew in at about six on Friday afternoon and took the tube to Abby Road. Yes, Jennifer lives three blocks down from the Abby Road. On the Tube I had a conversation with my first real London person. It was an older lady with a beautiful London accent. She gave me some advice for the tube and told me that she was born in London and she loves it.
When I arrived at the house, they were making dinner. Surprise!!! In London they eat dinner at 6:30, not 9:30. After dinner, Jennifer and I went on a walk along the river Thames. I saw Big Ben, the clock, The Tower of London, the tower bridge, the London Eye, and the Millenium Bridge. The Millenium Bridge is in Harry Potter, but when I saw Harry Potter I never thought it was real. We also went into the Tate Modern art museum and it happened to be the tenth anniversary so there were lots of cool exhibits. I have now been to 6 art museums in Europe. I am so Culture.
On Saturday I got to eat pancakes with peaches. How delightful. After taking the classic Abby Road picture we went on a walk through Regents park. It is fully beautiful with lots of birds, colorful flowers, and weeping Willow type trees. It is hard to believe that so much green space can be found inside the city.
My favorite thing that we did was go to Portabello Road market. It had antiques and jewlery. I bought two bracelets and a dress. We also bought crepes and a tomato zucchini pastry for lunch. The crepe was every bit as awesome as Paris.
Saturday afternoon, we went to see Oliver with Maya, the woman Jennifer stays with, and her daughter, Sylvia Jane. It was a very good show and a little scary. After that we all went to tea. I drank apple tea, and we also had scones, little sanwiches and an assortment of desserts. It was exactly like a tea party.
After tea, Jennifer and I walked down the swank shopping street and to Piccadily Circus and Trafalger Square, Westminster Abby and of course, Buckingham Palace. I didn´t see a guard change but we did see one walking, so that was just as exciting.
I attempted to look for platform 9 3/4, but there was work being done on the tube in preparation for the olympics and it was hard to find.
On Sunday we went to Hillsong, a huge church in a theatre. I was so glad to go because I missed church while in Tarifa, while in Paris, and I´ll be in Barcelona next week. This was the first church I´ve had in English in three months, so it was exciting for me. We went out for lunch of fish and chips, a typical English dish. It was Really good! I love the London french fries. They are so thick and potatofull!
I had to fly out of Stansted airport because flying out of Heathrow on Sunday was too expensive. It was an hour bus ride to the airport and I had my first Ryanair flight (and my only Ryan air flight). It was super on time and pretty great.
So London was my favorite trip ever, probably because I had a real family to live with and a personal tour guide! The only thing I missed was going inside Westminster Abby.
Today was a SUPERfabulous day.
!!!!!!!!!!!
It was a really short 48 hour trip, but I am so glad and thankful that I went. I stayed with a friend from Shorter, Jennifer, who is a nanny for an American family in London. They were so kind and let me stay with them too!
I flew in at about six on Friday afternoon and took the tube to Abby Road. Yes, Jennifer lives three blocks down from the Abby Road. On the Tube I had a conversation with my first real London person. It was an older lady with a beautiful London accent. She gave me some advice for the tube and told me that she was born in London and she loves it.
When I arrived at the house, they were making dinner. Surprise!!! In London they eat dinner at 6:30, not 9:30. After dinner, Jennifer and I went on a walk along the river Thames. I saw Big Ben, the clock, The Tower of London, the tower bridge, the London Eye, and the Millenium Bridge. The Millenium Bridge is in Harry Potter, but when I saw Harry Potter I never thought it was real. We also went into the Tate Modern art museum and it happened to be the tenth anniversary so there were lots of cool exhibits. I have now been to 6 art museums in Europe. I am so Culture.
On Saturday I got to eat pancakes with peaches. How delightful. After taking the classic Abby Road picture we went on a walk through Regents park. It is fully beautiful with lots of birds, colorful flowers, and weeping Willow type trees. It is hard to believe that so much green space can be found inside the city.
My favorite thing that we did was go to Portabello Road market. It had antiques and jewlery. I bought two bracelets and a dress. We also bought crepes and a tomato zucchini pastry for lunch. The crepe was every bit as awesome as Paris.
Saturday afternoon, we went to see Oliver with Maya, the woman Jennifer stays with, and her daughter, Sylvia Jane. It was a very good show and a little scary. After that we all went to tea. I drank apple tea, and we also had scones, little sanwiches and an assortment of desserts. It was exactly like a tea party.
After tea, Jennifer and I walked down the swank shopping street and to Piccadily Circus and Trafalger Square, Westminster Abby and of course, Buckingham Palace. I didn´t see a guard change but we did see one walking, so that was just as exciting.
I attempted to look for platform 9 3/4, but there was work being done on the tube in preparation for the olympics and it was hard to find.
On Sunday we went to Hillsong, a huge church in a theatre. I was so glad to go because I missed church while in Tarifa, while in Paris, and I´ll be in Barcelona next week. This was the first church I´ve had in English in three months, so it was exciting for me. We went out for lunch of fish and chips, a typical English dish. It was Really good! I love the London french fries. They are so thick and potatofull!
I had to fly out of Stansted airport because flying out of Heathrow on Sunday was too expensive. It was an hour bus ride to the airport and I had my first Ryanair flight (and my only Ryan air flight). It was super on time and pretty great.
So London was my favorite trip ever, probably because I had a real family to live with and a personal tour guide! The only thing I missed was going inside Westminster Abby.
Today was a SUPERfabulous day.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The End is Near
As my date of departure gets extremely close, life starts to get really crazy! I have a huge list of things to accomplish before I leave this city such as eat Gelato, go shopping, take three final exams, and visit the Plaza de España one last time. Today was the last day of classes so the only thing left to worry about is studying for finals.
Unfortunatly, I´m doing something completely crazy and going to London tomorrow. My first trip to London was cancelled due to ash clouds and I´m on the edge of my seat with this one. The Spanish airports were closed early this week but all the airports are opened now. In my reasearch on ash cloud situations I have found out that.
Europe air traffic may be affected by the ash clouds without notice until the volcanoe stops erupting. The last time, the eruption lasted two years.
Spinach. Isabel many months ago made us cooked spinach with chick peas, a plate which niether one of us could bear to eat. She talks about how we don´t like vegetables sometimes which isn´t fair because I´m eating so many vegetables here. We told her that we liked raw spinach and she had never tried it! So last week she made a huge salad of nothing but spinach. It was a little too much spinach all at once for me, but I ate it.
Today was my second to last tutoring class. I am really enjoying tutoring now. We played guess who for the majority of our time today. The best news was that I was able to borrow an English first grade reading book and Claudia loved it. I think we read every story in about three clases.
Today was a good day.
Unfortunatly, I´m doing something completely crazy and going to London tomorrow. My first trip to London was cancelled due to ash clouds and I´m on the edge of my seat with this one. The Spanish airports were closed early this week but all the airports are opened now. In my reasearch on ash cloud situations I have found out that.
Europe air traffic may be affected by the ash clouds without notice until the volcanoe stops erupting. The last time, the eruption lasted two years.
Spinach. Isabel many months ago made us cooked spinach with chick peas, a plate which niether one of us could bear to eat. She talks about how we don´t like vegetables sometimes which isn´t fair because I´m eating so many vegetables here. We told her that we liked raw spinach and she had never tried it! So last week she made a huge salad of nothing but spinach. It was a little too much spinach all at once for me, but I ate it.
Today was my second to last tutoring class. I am really enjoying tutoring now. We played guess who for the majority of our time today. The best news was that I was able to borrow an English first grade reading book and Claudia loved it. I think we read every story in about three clases.
Today was a good day.
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